Buckle-shield



(No Model.) A

R. A. WOODING. BUCKLE SHIELD.

No. 466,959" -Patented JmL-12, 1892l ma sama paens cu., How-umol, wAsmNamN, n, c.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RALPH A. WOODING, OF KENSINGTON, CONNECTICUT.

BUCKLE-SHIELD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 466,959, dated January 12, 18492.

Application led September 1, 1890. Seria] No. 363,610. '(No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RALPH A. VVOODING, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kensington, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Buckle-Shields, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in buckleshields, and has for its object to pro vide an article of this class which shall be easily adjustable, securely held in place against working up and down, be adapted to fit closely over the buckle Without having its edges ride the same, and which shall be light and neat in appearance.

Referring to the drawings, Figure lis a plan view of my shield. Fig. 2 is a plan of the same as applied over a buckle in suitable straps. Fig. 3 is a central longitudinal section ot' the same, and Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section of my shield, showinga slight Inoditlcation in attaching the loop.

A designates the body of the shield, Which may be of any desired shape or size, one end of which has a slot a cut in the body of the metal, so as to leave an integral rim c at the end outside of said slot, and the other end is furnished With a loop h, hinged thereto by an eye d at its end, Within which eye the loop is held. I prefer to form the slotted end of the shield of a rounded contour and to make the slot a in the form of a crescent With its back toward the rim c, as shown in Figs. l and 2. I also offset the rim c at its opposite ends near the junction of said rim with the body of the shield, so as to bring the major portion of said rim into a plane that is substantially parallel to the body of the shield, but inside of said body a distance about equal to the thickness of the strap, as most clearly shown in Fig. 3.

In using this shield the strap B is passed through the loop b, engages the buckle C in the ordinary manner, passes through the slot a from the inside of the shield over the rim c, and, lastly, it is slipped into its retainingloop D on the strap E, to which the buckle is secured, and the shield is thus made to cover the buckle closely,'while its rim lies flatly between the straps. The hinged loop b will stand nearly at right angles to the body of the shield and permit said shield to be sufficiently raised above the buckle. The integral rim c is held firmly between the end of the strap B, that passes through the loop D,

and the strap E, to which said loop is attached, thereby holding the shield firmly against Working up and down, or longitudinally on the strap. In some cases it may be desirable to form the eye Cl for the attachment of the loop b on a separate plate F instead of on the end of the body A of the shield, and then subsequently secure said plate to the Linder side of said body, near its end, by any suitable means-as, for instance, a rivet or rivets e, as shown in Fig. 4.

It Will be seen that the only portion of the shield which can hear against the horse is the hinged loop h, so that all liability of chang the skin of the horse, as is the case With a buckle-shield having only rigid eyes or loops, is obviated. It is also evidentthat :my shield is more easily adjusted and Will lit more closely to the buckle than a rigid shield, and at the same time it Will not Work or move longitudinally in use under the motion of the horse, as Will a shield with a hinged loop at each end. I am aware that prior to my invention buckle-shields have been employed consisting of a rigid plate With both of its ends slotted, and the same is hereby disclaimed and also, that an application for a patent showing and claiming a shield consisting of a plate with a hinged loop at each end was iiled and patented prior to the iiling of this specification, but not prior to the completion of my present invention.

I claim as my inventionl. The herein-desoribed buckle-shield, con-4 sisting of a plate A, having at one end a hinged extension or loop h and at the other end a slot a cut in the body of the metal, and a rigid or integral rim c at the end outside of said slot, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The herein-described buckle-shield, consisting of a plate A, having at one end a hinged loop h and at the other end a perforation d, and met-al rim c outside said perforation, said rim being offset at its opposite ends near the junction of raid rim and body, while its lnain portion is substantially parallel to the body of said shield, substantially as described, and for the purpose specified.

RALPH A. IVOODING.

Witnesses:

WILLIS H. UPsoN, CHAS. G. PHILLIPS.

IOO 

